BULAWAYO residents have urged the city council to abandon other programmes and concentrate on addressing the current water crisis bedevilling the city.
This comes after observations that about seven people in Bulawayo died of waterborne diseases as most suburbs have gone dry, which has resulted in sewer blockages.
Some residents have reportedly resorted to open defecation.
Bulawayo Residents Charter chairperson Thamsanqa Ndlovu told journalists during the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists’ Media and Community Engagement meeting held at the Bulawayo Press Club on Thursday, that residents want Bulawayo City Council to focus on alleviating water challenges.
“Residents are tired, they are tired of being told stories every day by the council, which is failing to fulfil its promises. The residents are busy trying to assist council. Frustration comes when the council is slow to respond. That is where the problem is,” Ndlovu said.
“People feel let down because the council should have projected the growth of the population. It should have had a planning programme for the water situation, replacing old equipment with new one. Residents want council to concentrate on dealing with the water crisis.”
Added Ndlovu: “Some say the council should stop what it is doing. The seminars that are attended by councillors and management, (they are being told to) stop fixing the roads and focus on dealing with the sewer and water situation.
“If the government declares it an emergency situation, such operations should be considered, everything else should stop and (they should) attend to issues to do with water.”
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